So, Bath Rugby has fallen further into the red. It's just emerged that, during the 2007/08 season, the club suffered a £357,000 loss.I've written about the financial headaches facing the club and the game as a whole before - but it seems the problems are becoming depressingly acute for Bath.
The club is now forecasting a loss for 2008/09 of £750,000.
A statement attached to the end of year results says "The reality is a stark one".
No kidding.
Andrew Brownsword, pictured, will be bailing the club out of the deficit again, but, boy, I bet he's anxious to find someone willing to take this club off his hands.
A couple of months ago, Bath Rugby CEO Bob Calleja publicly appealed for any potential investors to get in touch.
He's desperate for investment, and - given the growing credit crisis - that desperation must be growing by the day.
The underlying problem is that the club still doesn't know whether it has a short, medium or long-term future at The Rec. The only way for the club to get on a financial even keel is for it to boost ticket receipts - and that can't happen until it either expands on The Rec or builds a new stadium elsewhere.
So, the trustees who oversee The Rec need to come up with a decision on the ground's future pronto.
Until the issue of the ground's future is resolved, Brownsword ain't going to find a buyer and Calleja's going to struggle to find more investors.
If clarity over its future is not provided swiftly, then a cash problem at the club could develop into a full-blown crisis.
And all this while the club is flying high at the top of the Guinness Premiership...
No comments:
Post a Comment